


No Longer

by mionesena



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Exes, M/M, Moving On, Post-Break Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26297824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mionesena/pseuds/mionesena
Summary: it’s oddly satisfying deleting photos of your ex-lover of almost two years.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	No Longer

**Author's Note:**

> this one kept me up til 3am.
> 
> i hope you'll like it!

Taeyong has completely moved on from Jaehyun, and all the pain and regret that came with it.

This is exactly what he had in mind as he scrolled through some of their old photos together. He thought he had deleted all that remained of his previous relationship, but he was wrong.

It was a Saturday morning, way too early for Taeyong’s sanity, when his sister came barging in his room to wake him up. Taeyong hated being woken up too early on weekends, mainly because he believes in having this time to himself to keep him sane in the so-called ‘adult world’. The only exception to that, of course, is if it’s his sister disturbing him from his slumber — because she mostly only visits home on weekends ever since she got married and moved out.

“Yong, wake up! Your favorite sister is here,” she squealed while pulling Taeyong’s blanket off him.

Taeyong groaned. “It’s not like I have a choice in that, you’re my only sister,” he said eventually, eyes only half-opened.

“Sweet. Now get up,” she shakes him up once more, kisses his forehead, and leaves the room.

Taeyong smiled to himself. There’s no doubt that his bond with his sister is strong enough to last many lifetimes. And so, despite the grogginess, he happily obliged — fixing his bed before walking towards the dining area. He sat at the far end of the table, his favorite spot, and put his legs up to his chest to hug and to lay his head on.

“Yong, I brought my old laptop with me,” she said while washing a few dishes in the sink. The words were only passing through Taeyong’s dazed state. “I need you to check your files in there. I didn’t know which to delete and to keep, so it’s better if you do it.”

“Can you at least make me coffee first?” Taeyong muffled as he tried to keep his eyes open.

“Why would you think I haven’t made coffee _and breakfast_ for you yet? I’m hurt,” she gasped.

“This is why you’re my favorite sister,” I flashed her a grin.

“I know,” she replied proudly.

Taeyong dragged himself to the living room to grab the laptop from the center table and the simple action alone already took most of his remaining energy. Thankfully for him, his sister brews the most invigorating coffee in the house that one long sip is more than enough to perk him up.

When he had finally regained his senses, he realized that the laptop was the one her sister would usually lend him back in College. The sight of it brought back numerous memories, some of which he has already flushed out of his mind. He did most of his deliverables and requirements with this laptop, and even saved countless photos in it that he had particularly forgotten about — scrolling through the files would definitely be his source of amusement today.

Taeyong started with his documents, and found it comical how he had almost a decade worth of files for his thesis alone. It indeed took him a hefty amount of blood, sweat, and tears to finish it, but it was all worth it in the end. He opened his cloud drive to transfer the files he deemed worthy to be kept, and deleted the others without hesitation. Perhaps now he understands that the 1TB cloud storage was his greatest purchase yet.

As he waited for the files to be transferred, he scrolled through the photos and videos — and it was a full trip-down-memory-lane experience. There were photos of him with his best friends — Taeil, Yuta, Johnny, Ten, and Doyoung — accordingly arranged in folders with specific dates. Adding the dates for the folder name was definitely Johnny’s brightest idea, among others. Taeyong checked it year by year starting from 2014, laughing at the most random adventures they did together. He’ll be sharing these photos with them, for sure, as it will be pleasurable to reminisce about their early youth.

Taeyong was way too full of serotonin from scrolling through the photos that he didn’t realize what the folder from 2017 will bring him — memories of him and Jaehyun. It surprised him to know he missed deleting these photos, but then again he hasn’t seen these files for almost two years now and they’ve only broken up a year and four months ago, to be exact.

You’d think that seeing photos of your ex-lover would bring a pang in the heart but it’s different for someone who has finally healed from it. Thinking of it feels like a fever dream for Taeyong, because surprisingly for him, it only took him less than a year to heal. Some would call him fortunate because of it, but little do they know that it required no less than a hundred percent effort from Taeyong to learn to accept such a tragic fate. For Taeyong, it was months of drowning himself in alcohol, shedding buckets of tears, working until the wee hours of the night, and spending long walks on places that reminded him of his lover. It was torture. Some days he wanted to feel the pain, and some days he wanted to dodge it.

It was until one day, when he felt light-hearted upon looking through their photos together, that he realized he’s finally free. There was pain and regret, but there was also joy and acceptance. Taeyong got a taste of freedom and he craved for it, until the pain no longer consumes him. He deleted their photos soon after, put on his brave face, and called Taeil to share such a milestone. Taeil immediately called the shots and went to Taeyong’s place to celebrate it, knowing full well the torment that Taeyong went through from the break-up, and even during the relationship. Taeil was there for him from the beginning, up until today, and Taeyong can’t thank him enough for it.

He looked through the photos and laughed to himself — he was truly in too deep for Jaehyun that time that he didn’t realize he was giving too much of himself for someone who’s not willing to cross oceans, even bridges, with him. Jaehyun gave him utmost love and care, yes, but their journeys just weren’t meant to be taken together — that’s how life works.

Jaehyun, being a film student, loved capturing Taeyong and them together, hence the large amount of files still saved in the laptop. It was mainly photos, because the videos were usually kept by Jaehyun, and whether or not he deleted them doesn’t bother Taeyong anymore.

Taeyong scrolled and scrolled, embracing the memories that came with each photo, until it was finally time to delete them. Don’t get him wrong, this isn’t an act of bitterness, but a coping mechanism that he has acquired in the process of moving on from Jaehyun and he sure is valid for it.

This is how Taeyong spent his morning, removing the remaining physical evidence of Jaehyun from his end. He has accepted long ago that doing this won’t remove Jaehyun in his life, because he will always be a part of him and of who he is today. And despite the pain, he was thankful.

But here’s the thing, deleting photos of your ex-lover of almost two years is oddly satisfying, and Taeyong is more or less guilty of that.

**Author's Note:**

> hi, let's talk! you can send me a message on my twitter [@mionewrites](https://twitter.com/mionewrites) or on my [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/mionewrites)! ♡
> 
> kudos and/or comments are highly appreciated, I'd love to hear from you ♡
> 
> ***spoiler***  
> this is actually part of a bigger plot that i'm currently working on !! ( ^▽^)ψ__


End file.
